Chapter 23: Do You Also Have the Core of the Witch’s Urban Legend?
The wind herded the clouds like grazing sheep, with dark clouds galloping and gathering tightly in the sky.
Thin mist floated, drizzling rain echoed, the massive outline of the city ruins, like a mirage, stood between heaven and earth.
The rain soaked the rooftop, where a young man lay quietly on the cold, damp floor, beside him was a girl.
“……”
Luxianbei was squatting on the ground, holding a broken umbrella she had found somehow, staring intently at the unresponsive Qing Ji.
From afar, it resembled a little girl mesmerized by a snail on the way to school on a rainy day.
Her mood was heavy as she felt that her ancestor was in big trouble!
Pale and sleeping soundly, with a faint heartbeat, Qing Ji had become this way since she arrived.
Although it was a bit absurd to say that someone who didn’t know whether they qualified as alive had a heartbeat, from the symptoms now, it looked very much like her ancestor’s soul had left her body as in the legends.
In scientific terms, it was referred to as a persistent vegetative state.
“How can I wake him? This is tricky!”
In the past hour or so, Luxianbei had tried various methods to wake Qing Ji.
Including, but not limited to whispering in his ear, gently slapping his cheeks, using spirit energy spikes to stimulate acupoints, human pendulum swings, and the bl**d and flesh wind fire wheel.
However, none of it worked at all!
“If this doesn’t work, I can only…” Luxianbei lowered her gaze to her little hands, her expression turning cold.
So far, her record against Qing Ji was 17 to 7659.
In the few times she had won, about ten of those were when they both perished together under the explosion of the Hundred-Armed Giant Power.
But she also knew clearly that in this place, even if the physical body was destroyed and turned to dust, one could quickly revive.
If push comes to shove, she could just let her ancestor have a trip!
Starting over might just fix things, right?
Like rebooting an electronic device after it freezes, where there is over a 70% chance of returning to normal operation.
Luxianbei thought to herself, feeling a sudden surge of courage. Accompanied by a rush of spirit energy within her, a dazzling silver light ball filled with chaotic, violent energy appeared in her palm.
I’m sorry, ancestor! This is definitely not intentional revenge; I’m just being obedient and filial.
It’s raining heavily, leaving you lying on the damp ground is not a solution, right?
————
On the other side.
On an ancient street, in front of the Lipstick Tavern, at a dining table.
The few small dishes on the table were almost empty, and the empty jugs of wine had been moved to the ground, counting them revealed there were eleven jars.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of yellow wine.
Huasang and Qing Ji sat on opposite sides of the table, half-leaning over the edge, drunkenly swaying their heads. Occasionally they raised their cups, mumbling indistinctly.
Although eating and drinking here couldn’t fill their real-world stomachs, the wine was still intoxicating while immersed in it.
“*Burp*, my dear friend, let me tell you! The Rouge Girl is particularly beautiful. The first time I saw her was…,” Qing Ji swayed as he looked around, pointing at the water canal behind him, “right next to this waterway.”
“It was a midsummer day, the afternoon sun was scorching, the cicadas were noisy. She wore a blue square scarf and a peach-colored gauze skirt, with a pair of white embroidered shoes beside her. Her small feet were very white and tender, just swaying in the water… swaying into my heart… and then guess what happened?”
As Qing Ji reminisced, he spoke with sparkling eyes that contained treasures.
“Hmm, I don’t know…” Huasang shook her head with a dazed expression, “but, I know you must have fallen for her, right?”
“Hehehe… *Burp*!” Qing Ji laughed, filled with memories yet tinged with a hint of lewdness. “At that moment, I dashed forward and snatched her embroidered shoes!”
“Hmm…” Huasang pursed her lips and frowned, “I understand, that’s what we call love at first sight, right?”
“What do you mean love at first sight? That’s love at first glance!” Qing Ji corrected loudly.
“But, *burp*…” Huasang, with her pink lips resting on the edge of her wine cup, pondered for two seconds before mumbling, “strictly speaking, it’s all just lust at first sight.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Ji fell silent for a while, unable to find words to refute Huasang; he could only change the topic. “Guess what happened after I snatched her shoes?”
“Did she get anxious? Angry? Hmm, I don’t know…” Huasang shook her head.
“She actually pulled out a kitchen kn*fe from her chest to chop me!” Qing Ji exaggeratedly gestured, “The kind that’s huge, used for slaughtering pigs, you know?”
“She chased me down five streets with that kn*fe, and in the end, she threw a flying kn*fe that almost chopped half my head off!”
Huasang couldn’t help but interrupt, “That… that’s not right! How could the Rouge Girl catch up with you?”
To her, Qing Ji was a senior from the Dachunyang Palace; as long as he showed even a little movement, ordinary people relying on their legs would find it hard to keep up.
“That’s why you’re still so naive; you said it before… oh, right, you’re too young!” Qing Ji slightly raised his chin, his face flushed, looking somewhat proud.
“If I didn’t let her catch me, wouldn’t our fates have been severed?”
Huasang silently poured another cup of wine for Qing Ji, then filled her own cup, toasting him.
One could see he was indeed a senior!
Even acting like a rogue, he maintained such clarity and grace; in this day and age, he would be arrested multiple times in a day.
Qing Ji lifted his cup and drank it all, continuing, “Besides, that Rouge Girl wasn’t holding back either; she could easily lift dozens of pounds of meat and over a hundred pounds of vegetables and fruits.”
“That girl, one… *burp*! with a kn*fe, directly split open the two-inch thick door panel of her shop.”
Huasang silently gave a thumbs-up, exclaiming, “That counts as having innate strength.”
“Of course! Later, I also learned that this girl from the Lu family is renowned for being tough; even two or three strong men aren’t her match, and hardly anyone in ten miles dares to mess with her.”
“So, did you return her shoes later?” Huasang tilted her head and asked.
In response, Qing Ji’s previously glowing eyes dimmed instantly. He silently grabbed a jug of wine, knocked off the seal, and downed half of it in one go.
After putting down the jug, he quietly stared at the water canal, lost in thought, his eyes hazy, cheeks flushed, and body slightly swaying, looking extremely drunk.
It was hard to tell whether the intoxication was from the wine or the memories of the girl who once sat there.
After a long while, Qing Ji withdrew his gaze and sighed without a word, “I must have returned them, right? Probably… there were many things later that I can’t remember. I only recall I opened this shop for her, and then…”
“Then I lost her…”
“How did you lose her?”
Qing Ji fell silent, with his eyebrows lowered, judging by his expression, it seemed he genuinely couldn’t recall.
Huasang looked at Qing Ji in a daze, blinked, and comforted, “Senior, it’s okay if you can’t remember, you didn’t recall these things before, right?”
“Now, you’ve remembered these, so you should eventually remember the rest as well.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Ji was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Haha, you’re right! I was being overly sentimental, my apologies.”
“Don’t just talk about me; how about you share something about yourself? I only knew that you were severely injured at such a young age, but I haven’t heard you mention how it happened.”
In the past, their relationship was one of a gentleman’s friendship, as pure as water, and they wouldn’t ask too much about something the other party was unwilling to share.
However, today, Qing Ji had already disclosed his embarrassing moments, and if he didn’t let Huasang share something as well, he felt it would be a huge loss!
“This… this…” Huasang rubbed her slightly aching forehead, forcing a bitter smile, “So, are we having a moment of honesty today?”
“Hmm? A moment of honesty?” Qing Ji nodded slightly, “That’s a good term! Yes, today is indeed a moment of honesty, haha!”
Huasang pondered for a few seconds, pursed her lips, sat up straight unsteadily, and looked directly into Qing Ji’s eyes, speaking seriously, “Senior, have you ever killed someone?”
“I have, I vaguely remember… I’ve killed many.” Qing Ji said.
“What about innocent people? Those who, barring any accidents, could have lived mundane and happy lives?” Huasang asked with a serious tone.
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something. Under the flowing, disheveled hair that covered her face, her clear eyes grew slightly red.
Upon hearing this, Qing Ji suddenly felt much soberer, frowning at Huasang, silent.
Huasang took Qing Ji’s unfinished half-jug of wine, imitating how he drank earlier, and then held the empty jug, looking down at her toes, murmuring, “Senior, I have killed many… many innocent people…”
————
The rain continued to fall as if it would never stop.
On the dilapidated, crumbling rooftop.
Luxianbei pressed her left hand tightly against her bloodied right shoulder, looking at her ancestor who was muttering on the ground, twisting around; she felt like crying but had no tears.
A few minutes ago.
When she was controlling the Hundred-Armed Giant Power, preparing to help her ancestor complete molecular recombination, her ancestor suddenly spoke up.
He said, “Honesty… yes, today is a moment of honesty!”
Luxianbei, who had been feeling guilty in front of Qing Ji because of impersonating his wife, felt a tightness in her chest upon suddenly hearing such words and instinctively clenched her small fist.
Then…
The light ball of the Hundred-Armed Giant Power in her palm exploded.
With a loud “bang!” her entire right arm along with her shoulder exploded into a spray of bl**d mist, not even a piece of complete flesh or bone to be found.
For a moment, Luxianbei suspected that Qing Ji had no issues at all and was actually engaging in a new kind of torment specifically for her.
If she rashly attacked him, he might explode in rage like a certain Prime Minister and conduct a murderous act in a dream.
But now…
Listening as Qing Ji’s cheeks flushed, with the intermittent sound of a girl’s voice coming from his mouth, she began to feel that her ancestor’s problems were likely more serious than she had imagined.
“I have killed many innocent people…”
Luxianbei, “……”
What the heck is this?!
Ancestor, what are you doing? Why are you making a girl’s voice?
Could it be… you also have the core of the Witch’s Urban Legend?
With that thought, Luxianbei looked sideways at Qing Ji and quietly distanced herself from him.
Fear of calamities ensued.
